Yesterday was Christmas Day once more, as the tree lights twinkled, Carols resounded through the house and Cathy, my younger step-daughter, joined us for a traditional Christmas Dinner.

As Cathy and her partner, Ken, had spent Christmas in Paris, this was her first proper Christmas Dinner of the season. We enjoyed the cracker pulling and sharing of their corny jokes and, after Helen and Cathy had enjoyed a lengthier walk than I’m capable of these days, we settled down to watch “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” which had the usual sinister Tim Burton hallmarks. There is something truly un-nerving about Johnny Depp’s Willie Wonka persona.

All in all a feel-good day, in which I largely managed to ignore the joint pains which had sharply disclosed themselves during a mid-morning shuffle to the local Co-op.